The ROI of a 4-year college degree

This paid post is produced by Motiv8 Agency on behalf of Orange Technical College. The newsroom or editorial department of Tribune Publishing was not involved in its production.

This paid post is produced by Motiv8 Agency on behalf of Orange Technical College. The newsroom or editorial department of Tribune Publishing was not involved in its production.

(Shutterstock.com)

Is it worth it?

That’s what many graduating high school seniors and their families are left wondering when they look at the escalating cost of securing a four-year college degree. In Florida, the total bill to attend a private four-year college or university can exceed $40,000 annually. And more than half of graduates at four-year Florida colleges go into debt to secure their degree, with the average unpaid bill pushing $25,000 in 2014, according to the nonprofit Institute for College Access and Success, an Oakland, Calif.-based research and advocacy group.

Facing facts like these, many are opting for technical education, like that offered at Orange Technical College — especially those who are looking for a trade that will lead to a well-paying profession.

“When kids are in high school, too often we ask them what college they want to attend,” said Michael Armbruster, senior executive director of career and technical education at OTC. “We need to stop asking them what college they want to attend and start asking what they want to be, what profession they want to work in, and then create a pathway for them to get there.”

Students looking to jump-start themselves in a growing profession can attend one of OTC’s five campuses, where a career certificate program can be completed in less than a year and where yearly tuition can total just more than $2,500.

And jobs are waiting upon graduation.

Programs range from the state-of-the-art Launch Site, whose students leave equipped with the skills needed to thrive in the robust fields of 3-D animation, motion capture technology, and modeling and simulation. From construction and welding to hotel and business management, training is customized for each industry. Job placement and follow-up services are also offered for those who attend.

Contrary to standard operating procedure at a typical college or university, substantial debt is not an option at OTC. A 2015 Goldman Sachs study found that in 2010, the typical college student had to work eight years to break even on their bachelor’s degree investment. Graduates from the class of 2015, the study concluded, wouldn’t break even until age 31.

And while the National Center for Education Statistics show that a greater percentage of those with a bachelor’s degree or higher are working, a Federal Reserve Bank of New York report concluded that more than 4 in 10 college graduates in 2012 were working in jobs that didn’t require a college degree.

“A lot of kids graduate from college with a liberal arts degree, and they’re finding jobs that are $22,000 or $25,000 a year, and a lot of kids who get a career and technical education can work as a welder and make two or three times that,” said Armbruster.

Armbruster pointed out pursuing a career and technical education is not an either/or proposition. Approximately 30 percent of students at OTC Winter Park, for example, hold higher education degrees. On the other hand, students fresh out of high school who enroll at OTC have the opportunity to learn a trade, find a good job, and then return to school for a bachelor’s degree.

“There’s no right way, and there’s no wrong way,” said Armbruster. “You have to do what’s right for you and what’s right for your situation. The problem is we’ve equated all college degrees with success, and that’s not necessarily the case. There are some college degrees that are outstanding. But there are some career and technical education training programs that are just as outstanding.

“The bottom line is just having a college degree, especially one that comes with so much debt, is not a guarantee that you will have a successful career.”